Conditions that make for great surfing generally mean poor diving, and vice versa.
The second point above is exactly why reading a book on what makes waves turned out to be an extremely enlightening experience.
Dr Tony Butt lives in Spain on the exposed north Atlantic coast (good waves), but apparently spends the southern winter in Cape Town, surfing Dungeons where possible I imagine! He is a physical oceanographer. In Surf Science he explains where waves come from, and what leads to different kinds of surfing conditions.
His explanation of the origin of the waves that reach the coast starts at the very beginning, with an explanation of the drivers of weather systems. This section caused me to jump up and down with excitement, and to speak many long sentences to long suffering husband Tony. His expository method is easy to follow at each step, and for the first time I feel that I have a grip on . First we build up a mental model of the earth as a stationary globe with no land, and then gradually add rotation about its own axis, rotation around the sun (seasons), and the presence of continents to the model. At each step further understanding of the average world weather patterns (north Atlantic high, roaring forties, and so on) is improved.
The book goes on to cover the propagation of swell, and what happens when waves arrive in shallow water, break, and possibly allow surfing. Butt also deals with water temperature, tides, and rip currents, and concludes with a few chapters on surf forecasting models and how to read them. Throughout the concepts are illustrated with straightforward diagrams, and end-of-chapter boxes contain formulae for the mathematically inclined.
This is a shorter and more richly illustrated book than The Wavewatcher’s Companion, serving a different audience. Both surfers and divers can benefit from Surf Science, as well as the yachting fraternity, NSRI crew members, and anyone else who has an interest in the mechanics of the ocean. This volume has more the flavour of a textbook, with no unnecessary information, anecdote or humourous asides. There is a place for both books!
You can get a copy here or here, or here (if you’re in South Africa).
Andre happens to live high up above False Bay, with a magnificent view right across to the eastern side of the bay, weather permitting. Here’s Seal Island and a lone yacht, one Sunday in March.
One of the most enjoyable parts of the Freedom Swim (from Robben Island to Blouberg, on May 3rd) was the time we spent waiting outside Murray’s Bay Harbour on Robben Island, where the swim was to begin. Once we received the all-clear to head from Granger Bay to the island, we saw that the mist only extended a short distance out to sea, and it was clear at Robben Island.
Table Mountain and Robben Island
A motley assortment of boats – from a huge yacht to a two metre long rubber duck with a single 15hp motor, as well as some rescue boats, stand up paddle boarders, and kayakers – spent nearly an hour bobbing gently on the mirror-like ocean.
Waiting for the swim to start
A festive atmosphere prevailed. In order to assist their swimmers to identify them, boats were adorned with flags, balloons, inflated papsakke, towels, and other colourful items. Stand up paddle boarders moved through the crowd of boats, and we enjoyed a strange stereo effect when radio announcements were made by the organisers.
A tanker is visible in the distance
Clouds above the calm sea
An assortment of watercraft
The expensive, fancy Robben Island ferry is broken (as it seems to have been almost since the moment it went into service), so Nauticat, the seal watching boat from Hout Bay, is doing duty as one of the ferries bringing visitors to the island until a new ferry is obtained. The ferries practically handbrake turn into the harbour when they arrive, slowing down not at all, so there was a delay at the start of the swim while we waited for a ferry to complete its arrival.
The Robben Island ferry stand-in, Nauticat from Hout Bay, approaches
We could hear the countdown over our VHF radio for the start of the swim for participants wearing swimsuits, and about half an hour later the wetsuit swimmers hit the water. They started inside the harbour, so it was a few minutes before the first swimmer emerged from the harbour entrance and headed for the buoy that marked the start of the course.
Many small craft waiting for the swim to start
Once we had rendezvoused with our three swimmers, we were off! (Swimming happens at a pace close to walking speed, so we trawled along with just one motor at a time.)
It’s not often I get to crack out some Danish here in Cape Town, but I had that opportunity just after Christmas when I met the crew of this amazing looking yacht. (It reminded us of this Danish fishing boat.) You can see the red and white Dannebrog on the stern. The group were sailing around the world, and were spending some time relaxing in Simon’s Town before the next leg of the journey.
Danish vessel at anchor
Rocks near Partridge Point
The rocks south of Smitswinkel Bay
We motored past the boat several times before the conditions were suitable for me to greet them and shoot the breeze a bit. The skipper told me (in Danish) that the rest of the crew all needed a break from the pressures of modern society, and the teamwork and focus required to skipper across the world’s oceans was just what they would benefit from. We would probably all benefit from something like that!
Afterwards we headed south towards Smitswinkel Bay, and looked for clean water.
A large ship and a yacht seen from Glencairn Beach in False Bay
False Bay doesn’t usually see very large ships, but when there’s a storm brewing we’ll sometimes see big vessels coming to hide in the bay. I took this photo at the beginning of November last year. This huge ship spent a day or two in the bay, as well as another one you can see just behind the yacht. This picture was taken from the bottom of the Whale Lookout at Glencairn.
The four episodes of this History Channel series cover waves, tides and currents, predators, and pressure – all powerful features of the ocean that can be sensationalised (some more easily than others) and presented for shock value and as imminent threats to human life. Full advantage is taken of this fact.
This very American offering doesn’t boast the measured, mellifluous tones of Benedict Cumberbatch or Steve Toussaint as narrator, but the line-up of (mostly in-studio) guest narrators is quite impressive. Bruce Parker (The Power of the Sea), Susan Casey (The Devil’s Teeth and The Wave), David Gallo (scientist presenter of the TED Talk I mentioned here), Scott Cassell (student of the Humboldt squid), Richard Ellis (writer of a number of ocean history, art and sciencebooks), and Neil Hammerschlag (shark scientist) were familiar to me, as was big wave surfer Ken Bradshaw, from this article. The strange, uncomfortable way in which the studio narrators were filmed, with silent close ups interspersed with talking, was very annoying and must have been incredibly embarrassing to shoot. Or perhaps the cameraman took the footage when the narrators didn’t realise they were being filmed.
Unlike BBC documentaries, which tend to rely purely on incredible photography and fluent narrative to convey information, the History Channel favours a CGI-heavy approach that we encountered in Treasure Quest,Deep Sea Salvage, and also in the National Geographic SharkMen series.For the subject matter of this series – particularly the sections on waves, tides and currents – it was very appropriate and informative. The first episode, devoted to tsunamis, rogue waves and “monster waves”, made good use of CGI to illustrate the concepts as they were explained. The series was produced shortly before the Japanese tsunami of 2011 (there is a hastily tacked on “thoughts and prayers” disclaimer) and features interviews with a survivor of a tsunami in Samoa. I am fascinated by rogue waves – the whole episode could have been devoted to them but they don’t make for good television – we only have indirect evidence of their existence. Also, I could have done with more footage of giant ships battling storms, but that’s what youtube is for…
The least interesting and most irritating episode was the one devoted to the ocean’s top predators, which suggested that orcas are a serious threat to humans. As evidence, the cases of captive killer whales drowning and injuring their trainers at marine theme parks were cited. No mention was made of the psychosis that these whales suffer from as a result of confinement in a small, barren, completely unnatural environment. An incident in which orcas inexplicably rammed and sank a yacht in the Pacific Ocean is also described and re-enacted. Whether the orcas did what they did because they wanted to kill the people on board is highly debatable. There is also a half-hearted attempt to paint whales as potentially vicious killers, recounting incidents when sperm whales rammed whaling boats in the 19th century. More power to the sperm whales, I say.
The other dangerous predators were (predictably) white sharks, Humboldt squid, saltwater crocodiles and Australian box jellyfish. There was a small environmental message at the end of this episode, mentioning that squid will probably end up the top predators in our oceans if current trends – fishing out large predatory fish and global warming in particular – continue.
The third episode, on the immense pressures that objects in the deep ocean are subjected to, was very interesting to Tony and me as divers. A confusing interview with a diver whose brother got DCS on a wreck dive leaves (I suspect) much out. Were they even qualified divers? Why was he surprised that his brother felt unwell and confused as to the cause after he popped to the surface from 30 metres after a 30 minute dive?
The bulk of the third episode, however, recounts a 1981 experiment called Atlantis III in which three volunteers were taken in a saturation system to a simulated depth of 686 metres while breathing Trimix 10 (70% helium, 20% nitrogen and 10% oxygen). It took 31 days for them to decompress. The chief of the experiment, Peter Bennett, was the founder and former CEO of DAN. There’s a more information about the project here – worth a read (download the pdf slowly), and a briefer account here.
The series concludes with an episode on tides and currents, including rip currents. The massive tidal range of Morecambe Bay in the United Kingdom, is discussed at length. At low tide, up to 300 square kilometres of mudflats is exposed, and flooded again when the tide comes in. The guides who escort people out onto the mudflats when the tide is out seem like charming individuals – it is recommended not to wander around at low tide without local guidance. In 2004, the rising tide trapped and drowned 23 Chinese immigrants who were working the cockle beds – with such a large expanse of land to cover, the rising tide comes in at great speed. There is also a harrowing re-enactment of a father and his two sons getting washed out to sea in a rip current in Kauai that should make you think twice about swimming at beaches with warning signs on them.
You can get the DVDs here if you’re in South Africa. Foreigners, go here or here.
Clare is not good at early mornings, but I love to see the sun rise, and one beautiful Saturday just before Christmas – when visibility was unfortunately too poor to take divers out – I took Seahorseto False Bay Yacht Club at first light. The day turned out to be quite hectic for other ocean users, but I was able to calmly observe the action.
I started with a quiet tour to Ark Rock and past Roman Rock lighthouse. I spotted a lone baby penguin heading home to Boulders Beach. He was making quite a lot of noise, telling me where he was going.
The yacht basin at dawn
Ark Rock/Noah’s Ark
Ark Rock/Noah’s Ark
Cormorants on Ark Rock
Roman Rock lighthouse
Baby penguin on his way back to Boulders Beach
Abandoned rubber duck off Cape Point
NSRI Simon’s Town rescue boat Spirit of Safmarine
The NSRI were out and about for a surfski race (see below), but their rescue boat was called away owing to reports of an abandoned rubber duck, found 4 nautical miles off Cape Point by fishermen. The tiny duck was towed (at high speed) back to base, where several sets of dive gear were found on board. The boat was handed over to the police, and it’s a mystery whether or not they located the owner.
The rubber duck under tow
The NSRI towing a small rubberduck
Two NSRI boats on duty
The smaller NSRI rescue boat
Cape Point Challenge
Once they had towed the rubber duck, the NSRI went back to monitoring the Cape Point Challenge surfski race. This race involved a paddle from Scarborough, around Cape Point, into False Bay and up to Fish Hoek. I spotted Gary, our neighbour and Divemaster candidate, looking strong.
Gary working his paddle!
Competitors in the Cape Point Challenge surfski race
Competitors in the Cape Point Challenge surfski race
Doubles competitors in lockstep
Closely fought contest
Synchronised paddling
The main Simon’s Town rescue boat of the NSRI
Governor’s Cup
Yachting in False Bay
When I decided to call it a day and return to the Yacht Club I was faced with a small challenge. 22 December happened also to be the starting date for the Governor’s Cup yacht race from Simon’s Town to St Helena island, several thousand kilometres away. There was a lot ofboat traffic, and I had to queue for the slipway for quite a while. There were the race participants, as well as a large number of smaller sailing and motor vessels seeing them off.
The Governor’s Cup yacht race started from Simon’s Town
Sophie, our diving buddy who has travelled with us to Sodwana before, happened to be on one of the yachts. Fortunately it was such a beautiful day I didn’t mind waiting.
It’s usually Tony that spends a lot of time on the bay, driving the boat to dive sites, waiting on the boat for divers to surface, and just enjoying the great wildlife spectacle that is False Bay. I hadn’t dived for ages, and on a Saturday in early October when the opportunity arose, I was ill. I stayed on the boat with Tony, and got to experience some of what happens while I’m usually under the surface.
Young seals at Ark Rock
Tony meets the cormorant
The cormorant was unafraid
The divers first got into the water to play with the seals at Ark Rock, in the shallow water in the wind shadow of the rock. The seals were mostly juveniles, leaping in and out of the water. There was brisk traffic of seals leaving and arriving the site, as well as large numbers of cormorants roosting on the rock.
Cheeky cormorant dips his head in the water
One cormorant swam over to the boat and spent some time inspecting the motors. He duck dived under the boat a few times and came up on the other side. He also pecked Tony on the hand when it became apparent that we had no bird food on board!
Tony on the boat
The second dive was at Shark Alley. The divers didn’t see any cowsharks – none had been seen since mid September. It’s not known whether they moved away to mate or forage for food. In fact, shamefully little is known about these sharks. While the divers were in the water we noticed a large seal thrashing about, attended by a huge flock of birds. Reminded of the battle he witnessed between a seal and a spearnose skate, Tony moved the boat across to take a look.
The shape of a shark is clearly visible
The seal pushes the shark to the surface
Lots of teeth and whiskers
Mugging for the camera
Seal showing off with a shark
The seal had a dead shark, probably thrown overboard from one of the many fishing boats that was out on the water that day. The shark was large and seemed heavy, and the seal was struggling a bit to keep it near the surface. I didn’t get a good look at its dorsal side, but from its shape and white belly we guess that it was a blue shark, maybe 1-1.2 metres long. The seal showed off for a bit, played the great hunter, and smacked the shark about. On the way back we found some interesting things to look at at False Bay Yacht Club. Never boring!
Two pieces of a catamaran waiting for assembly at FBYC
